Tuesday, October 20, 2009

So, this past weekend was the 3rd Annual Maxxis National Championship in Neeses, SC at the Thundervalley Motorplex. This is an invitation-only event and only the top 20 qualifiers in the purple class could race in the feature. At the first drivers meeting, the event staff reported that 19 states were represented there to race.

Here are the photos from this weekend. I'm going to apologize now for the quality of photos and the soon to be uploaded video. I don't feel either are up to my usual standard. I'm also not going to go into detail about the racing results as I find Johnny does a much better job writing that up. :)

If you want quality photos, I strongly suggest you check out Rowdy's site!

The Race Report

We arrived on Friday afternoon but the track was just too wet. They had rain for I think they said 12 out of the past 13 days. We got everything unloaded and the karts registered and run through safety tech then we enjoyed a free barbeque dinner provided by Chester Hester and Maxxis Tires.

Saturday we arrived bright and early only to find that the track was still too wet. Practice was delayed and we finaly were able to get on the track around lunch time. They would get the track rolled in and looking good but every time the karts got up to speed it would start breaking apart. Finaly Mr James Moore got back on the motor grader and cut it about 2 foot deep until he found some drier dirt. Qualifying finaly got started around 5:00 PM. Spencer qualified 19th out of 30 karts and made it into the feature race.

Next it was Ms Ellie's turn to make her debut at a National event. She ran in the Chase'n Race'n Kids class. They drew for starting position and she started 5th. She was able to move up one spot and bring home a 4th place finish.

Afer Ellie's race it was Spencer's turn again. He started 19th and was up to 12th but the race was caution filled and we ran out of fuel and had to pull in. He wound up with a 17th place finish in the Jr 1 Lite class. During the next race of the night the rain came and the rest of the features had to be postponed until Sunday.

Sunday morning they finished the remaining classes from Saturday then had a brief drivers meeting and a church service led by Brett Miller of Kerting Crusaders. Spencer qualified 17th out of 30 and again made the feature. We struggled all weekend with the setup on that slick South Carolina clay but he was on the move in the feature until a nudge from behind sent him off the track on the back straight away. Knowing that he had gone a lap down and would not have a chance at the win Spencer elected to pull off the track. While I was disappointed he didn't finish it may have been the best move because they had a big pile up on the next lap and even red flaged the race so the officials could have a talk with the kids about rough driving. Congratulations to Brody Pope for his win in the Jr 1 Heavy class Sunday. We first met Brody at the Mid West Jr Kahuna in Warrensburg, MO and he is a super nice kid!

Chester and crew did a great job of keeping the program moving along and after collecting Ellie's plaque we were on the road by 9:30 PM.

All in all we had a really good time, met a lot of great people, and learned a lot. We plan to go back next year and hopefully bring home that leather jacket.

Monday, October 5, 2009

We went into the final race knowing that to win the Series championship we would have to finish ahead of 03 Cole Brown. Unfortunately for us Cole did an outstanding job, qualifying on the pole and leading every lap to secure the win and the championship. Congratulations to Cole for an awesome season! We had 6 races and 4 different winners with Spencer and Cole picking up 2 wins each and Konner Copeland and Jacob Pender with one win each.

Spencer qualified 3rd and fell back a couple of spots early in the race. On the flatheads if you fill them too full of fuel it will cause the motor to stumble when they go through the corner. Although we filled it to the same point we always do, we had not been on a track where we turned 10 second lap times and the additional gforce must have caused the fuel to slosh up and block the vent. The 2nd place kart spun out and during the caution Spencer pulled into the pits because he thought his motor was messing up. I realized what was happening and sent him back out but the rule is that if a kart leaves the track for any reason they have to start in the rear. To complicate matters the transponder (scoring device) got knocked of the kart in the wreck and it came down to a photo finish between Spencer and Jacob for 3rd place. From our view as well as Spencer and Jacob's view it looked like Spencer passed him before the start finish line but Jacob was scored in 3rd place.

It was a heartbreaker for the #11 team but we were able to hang on to a 2nd place finish in the points and we are now looking forward to the Maxxis National Championships Oct 16-18 in Neeses, SC.

Big thanks to Russell Hunt with Outlaw Motorsports and Jeff White for all the setup help throughout the year!!

Here's the video from the feature.

Here are the photos from Saturday. I've gotten my camera back from surgery, but I think there may be some scar tissue. ;) I'm still trying to convince Johnny that a D300s would make the kids go faster.

Monday, September 7, 2009

After a 3 hour rain delay we wound up chasing the setup all day. We were much better in the feature and wound up with a strong 3rd place finish. Congratulations to 1st place Konner Copeland and 2nd Cole Brown!!

Here's the video from the feature.

Here are the still shots that were taken that day. They were captured using the iPhone, the JVC camcorder and the Nikon Coolpix. My D80 had to be sent to the hospital for surgery. We're praying for a fast and effective (and not too expensive) recovery. Also, if you're thinking of getting the JVC Everio camcorder for recording racing - don't. We've actually returned that model to the store due to picture quality being so bad and image stabilization being nonexistent!

Please be patient with me. I'm trying to gather all the photos and videos that were taken. My main camera (Nikon D80) died on Friday while shooting the practice. I had to borrow my sister's Coolpix and use the iPhone. I'll get an update here hopefully later today or tomorrow.

Thanks - Jennifer

PS - If you know of a good way to explain to my husband why this is a good time to move up to the D300, please let me know. ;)

Monday, June 22, 2009

It was an extremely hot, long day Saturday. We made it home around 1:30am Sunday morning after about 13 hours at the track. We didn't do so hot in the racing, but at least he was able to gain some experience on the short track racing. :) It was quite a small track surrounded by a concrete wall with tires blocking around the corners. As a mom, it was a prayer filled day. :)